Boo Radely, Freak of Nature
by MertleYuts
Summary: A satire of English essays in which I prove that Boo Radely is not only Scout and Jem's father but a yeast monster. Yes, I did turn this in for a grade, and yes it was good one. Slightly altered from old version, but it WAS written freshman year...


In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a dark unknown mystery surrounding the character Boo Radley. Even the end of the book does little to clear up his shady history. But the evidence is apparent to those willing to question this unconvincing character, and the source of his peculiarities become clear. I plan here to unveil this freak of nature, Boo Radley, for what he really is. I dare to question the laws of science and life in search of the truth, and answer those, like me, who are unsatisfied with the lie this book attempts to pass off. I propose that Boo, Arthur Radley is a different form of human being, one who is able to asexually create new life, and that the main characters Jem and Scout are such offspring. A theory I present now, along with a great quantity of unquestionable evidence, to show the world the conspiracy behind this much-loved classic.

Our first impression of Boo Radley is through neighborhood legend, and although it is not very accurate, the rumors give some hint to his oddities.

"Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom…People said he went out at night when the moon was down and peeped in windows. When people's azaleas froze… it was because he had breathed on them."(9)

Although these rumors are exaggerations, there has to be some shred of truth to them, how else would they get started? This is where one can begin to suspect that something is not quite right.

There is another example of this, again in neighborhood legend, of far before the book takes place, when Boo Radley was just a "child", who had gotten into some trouble.

"The other boys attended the industrial school and received the best secondary education to be had in the state…and Mr. Radley's boy was not seen again for fifteen years."(10)

This proves that the Radleys have something to hide, but the question is what? The first thing that is necessary to do though is to separate the rumor from the fact. It is a fact that Boo Radley only comes out at night in the dark, as he is most comfortable in the dark, as shown multiple times throughout the book. For example when Boo finally comes out. "[The chair] was in deep shadow. Boo would feel more comfortable in the dark." So one can assume that the first rumor is more reliable, which means one could assume he can ruin azaleas as well. The second rumor however is not quite as reliable, as Boo Radley was seen again by Miss Stephanie, who claimed that she "woke up in the middle of the night one time and saw him looking straight through the window at her"(12). This means that one cannot take that quote quite as literally.

Now that it is obvious something is wrong at the Radley house, one begins to form the question, what? What is it that they have to hide? The fact that he is most comfortable in the dark is very important. Yeast, also prefers the dark, as that is where it grows best ("How the Yeast…"). Yeast would solve many of the mysteries surrounding this book. For example, how would a mere man who has been holed up in a house for many years with little else to do than clip newspapers, have the strength required to fight an angry drunk Bob Ewell, when Jem and Scout were attacked. "Suddenly he was jerked backwards and flung on the ground, almost carrying me with him." Flinging people is something that requires a lot of strength. One would suppose Boo would not have enough strength to do something like that. Unless, that is, if he grew best in the dark just like the yeast, then instead of withering away he would become strong enough to accomplish such a feat. Not only that, but since yeast is a fungus and many fungi are parasitic (Fungus), this would also cause problems with people's azaleas if her were to breathe on them. If nothing else this plants a doubt as to Boo Radley's humanity.

Another mystery that can be solved by the "Boo is like a freak-of-nature yeast cell" theory, is Scout's uncanny ability to read, seemingly without being taught. When her teacher asks her if Atticus taught her to read she responds,

"Atticus ain't got time to teach me anything… he just sits in the living room and reads. Jem says my name's really Jean Louise Bullfinch, that I got swapped when I was born and I'm really a-"

This is a clue left to hint at the truth. If it were true that Atticus was not her real father, that her father was instead say Boo Radley, she would still need a mother. Unless, Boo Radley was like a yeast and could bud off his offspring asexually, which is how yeast reproduce. Of course the children could not live with their yeast-like biological father, so they would send the children, Jem and later Scout to another family who could take better care of them. They would have to show symptoms of their own strangeness though, Scout's strange ability, would be one such symptom. She says that Atticus would read at night, perhaps she was able to 'absorb' the ability to read, almost like osmosis or diffusion, which is the way that single cells, such as yeast, get their nutrients. And this is not the only evidence for this.

Perhaps the most blatantly obvious evidence to prove that Boo Radley is their father is just after Boo has taken Jem home and Scout sees him for the first time. "Before [Atticus] went inside the house, he stopped in front of Boo Radley. 'Thank you for my children Arthur,' he said."(276) Atticus is obviously thanking him for bringing Jem and Scout into the world and then giving them to him and his late wife. Just after this, Boo and Scout are left alone in Jem's room, Boo stands just near his bed. "'You can pet him…' Boo's hand hovered over Jem's head. 'Go on, sir, he's asleep.' His hand came down lightly on Jem's hair."(278) Gently petting a child's head while they sleep is an unmistakably parental gesture. Boo's parental instincts would promote this action, just as Scout and Jem's instincts tell them on a subconscious level that Atticus is not really their father which is why they refer to him as Atticus. Then, just before the end of the book, the children are described as his, as "Boo's children."(279) Proving that they are his offspring if not in a conventional way.

In conclusion, all of the mysteries of the book can be answered by one theory, that Boo is a yeast like freak-of-nature and Scout and Jem are his children. If this is not the answer then the Radleys are hiding an even stranger secret. However it is unquestionable that they are hiding something, and if Boo really is a yeast like being, like the clues left in the book would suggest, then all of these mysteries are all wrapped up without any loose ends. His predilection for dark, his ability to ruin azaleas, the source of his strength during the fight against Bob Ewell, Scout's talent for reading without being taught, Boo's parental instinct, and everyone's biggest question, why do Jem and Scout call their father Atticus? All of which can be answered if we can just accept the truth that bends the laws of nature and human imagination.

Works Cited

"Fungus." Wikipedia. 9 May 2007. 10 May 2007 .org/wiki/Fungi.

"How the Yeast Plant Grows in a Loaf of Bread." Wikisource. 9 Aug. 2006. 10 May 2007 .org/wiki/The_How_and_Why_Library/Plants/Section_II.

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mocking Bird. New York: Warner Books, 1960.


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